Over the years we’ve worked with a number of vendors that sell proprietary phone systems for business. These companies offer specialized hardware for private branch exchanges (PBX), which handle inter-office calls, individual phone extensions, and other office phone features. We’ve worked along side these vendors for mutual clients, supporting voice and data business needs. We’ve often wondered why all the specialized equipment is needed. There have been significant technological advances in phone systems over the last decade, and many PBX vendors appear unwilling to support the newer, more flexible, cheaper methods. To better meet our client’s needs, Acceleration will begin offering voice services in 2010.

The latest phone systems work with normal internet connections, using the world-standard internet protocol (IP). These new phones are referred to as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phones, and can operate over existing internet connections. Many PBX vendors simply don’t have the background in IP networking to support these new products. They have stuck with the same expensive, proprietary PBX systems they’ve always sold, occasionally offering a token VoIP add-on. Without the networking knowledge and infrastructure, these PBX/VoIP hybrids simply do not work well. As a result, customers conclude VoIP is “not ready for prime-time” when in actuality it’s simply a poor implementation. VoIP has had somewhat of a bad reputation with early adopters. Perversely, this usually works in favor of the poorly-performing vendor, driving customers back to the same old expensive hardware, which they sell at inflated prices without any incentive to innovate.

We don’t feel traditional PBX is in the best interest of our clients, so we have been busy researching and developing a better voice solution for business.

Acceleration will enter the voice market in 2010. We are well positioned to provide voice service due to our existing broadband infrastructure and experience running high-level networks. We will provide turn-key phone solutions, replacing all the separate relationships you probably manage today. We are planning hosted PBX services, PBX integration (if you’ve recently invested in a PBX), VoIP handsets, money-saving local and long-distance plans, all with the networking configuration to ensure your calls stay crystal clear.

Our flagship product for voice will be Hosted PBX. The PBX service will reside in our data center, and your physical phones will be directly connected. There is no specialized PBX hardware for you to purchase or maintain in your telephone closet. In fact, there’s no specialized PBX hardware at all. Hosted PBX is a software solution that runs on a high-powered server, the same kind of machine we’ve been managing for years for our hosting and database clients. The hosted PBX is built to handle many thousands of business customers, and offers all the features of a traditional PBX and more. This is the architecture of the future for most business phone systems.

The reason many PBX hardware providers haven’t gone this new direction is that they can’t control the Quality of Service (QoS). This is a critical component to your VoIP system to ensure smooth operation on a combined voice and data network. PBX hardware companies typically do not operate their own broadband networks like we do, so they can’t provide QoS. Often times, they can’t provide the phone lines either as they are not a phone company. Our goal is to replace all of those components and provide a comprehensive, reliable, and feature-rich solution for less money.

A few reasons to consider Acceleration for your voice solution:

• Industry standard hardware – no proprietary phones or PBX packages, future-proof
• Costs are much less than proprietary PBX systems and with more features
• Web-based control panel to manage your phones
• QoS support across the network ensuring reliability and clarity
• HD Voice – high-definition voice (like HDTV): amazing sound quality
• Competitive local and long-distance rates: down to $.02/minute!
• Amazing features: have your cell phone as an extension, a home phone that’s a part of your office, and many more
• 24/7 Support by the same high-level technicians you’ve come to trust for your broadband and hosting needs

If you’d be interested in our voice offerings, please contact us at sales@acceleration.net.